


What I’ve Been Looking For

by BriMarie



Series: Start of Something New [1]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Accidental meeting, Aged Up, F/M, Fate, Fluff, Nini Salazar roberts - Freeform, Ricky Bowen Loves Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen Needs A Hug (HSMTMTS), Ricky is a dad, Romantic Fluff, Soft Ricky Bowen (HSMTMTS), Strangers to Lovers, high school musical the musical the series - Freeform, hsmtmts, ricky bowen - Freeform, rini - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28403553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriMarie/pseuds/BriMarie
Summary: Ricky is a single father who struggles to find love due to him being a young parent. He figured he'd never find love again and was beginning to be okay with that. That is until he accidentally meets a woman who might bring his faith in love back.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Series: Start of Something New [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099352
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	What I’ve Been Looking For

**Author's Note:**

> The world is so fucking chaotic rn, but at least GA was blue again (proud to be part of that). Please enjoy this fluff fest as a way to escape from the world’s problems for just a lil while.

"Come on Ricky, at least give it a shot."

Ricky rolled his eyes at his best friend, Big Red, as he unbuckled his three year old daughter from her car seat. 

"Don't start with me Red. I had a long day and already have to cook dinner for Maya in like thirty minutes."

"Dude, you haven't been with anyone since Terra, and I know you're tired of tagging along with the rest of the gang as the seventh wheel."

"Red, you already know I'm not too crazy about the whole dating thing right now. Besides, most women are turned off the second I bring up Maya. She's basically a deal breaker for women my age." The little girl looks up at her father when she hears her name mentioned, making him smile at her. "Don't worry honey, you're not a deal breaker to me."

The little girl smiles and reaches her hands out to her father as her own way of telling him to pick her up. He places her on his hip and pecks her on the cheek.

"I've been talking to Ashlyn about this-"

"You've been talking about my love life with your fiancé? Is it that serious to you guys?"

Big Red nods. "We can't help it. We just hate seeing you all alone all the time and only spending most of your free time with just your daughter."

"Who says I don't enjoy spending time with my daughter? I at least know she's not gonna walk out on me like the others. Well, at least not until college. Isn't that right sweetie?" Ricky poked her stomach, making Maya smile from ear to ear.

"I never said you didn't enjoy it, but surely you'd want someone to wake up next to, have full conversations with, and go on date nights with, right?"

Ricky groaned loudly as he opened his front door. He did admit it'd be nice to speak to someone who's conversation topics didn't only consist of kids movies and toys when he got back from work. 

Also, a maternal figure in Maya's life would be ideal for the future when he can't fathom feminine problems no matter how many groups he went to or websites he searched.

"If I accept the date, will you leave me alone?"

Red nodded. "Sure will!"

Ricky rolled his eyes. "Ugh fine, just text me the address of the restaurant and the woman's number."

Red perked up. "Great! Ashlyn will be so excited! We'll babysit Maya for you by the way. I promise you'll love this woman, and that you won't regret it! I already hear wedding bells ringing."

Ricky scrunched up his face. "Alright, calm down. You're moving faster than a Disney princess. It's just a little blind date. Nothing more, nothing less."

"You never know! I'll send you her info. See you and Maya tomorrow at dinner."

"Bye dude."

Ricky watched Red skip to his car and couldn't stop the chuckle that came out of his mouth. He didn't let the fact that he agreed to a date with a stranger sink in until it was too late.

"Fuck."

Maya lightly hit her dad's arm. "Daddy is a potty mouth!"

He kissed her forehead. "Sorry baby. Go play with your toys while I get dinner started."

She hopped out of his arms and ran to her play pit in the living room. He smiled adoringly at his pride and joy. He loved her with all his heart. Even though he wasn't ready to become a dad a month after he turned 20, he wouldn't change a thing. Well maybe he'd change his baby's mother, but that's a different story. 

He just hopes his next love interest would love her just as much as he did. 

***

Ricky checked his watch three separate times in the past ten minutes. It was 7:30, and there was no sign of his blind date that was supposed to be here at 7. He had texted the number Red had given him asking if she were close, but he was left on delivered. Damn, she couldn't even bother to read the message?

He was starting to get restless as he slumped down in the booth. The waiter already came by three times asking if he wanted to order, but Ricky would kindly decline since he wanted to wait for her to show up. Another 15 minutes go by, and still no contact from her. He let out a defeated sigh. Well maybe she wasn't as great as Red made her out to be after all.

"Waiting on someone too?"

He turns his head to the table that was adjacent to his. The woman who asked him that question had also been alone and was pretty dressed up for someone who was out on a Thursday night. She was dark haired, had dough eyes, and in his opinion, she was quite beautiful. 

"Uh yeah, but I think I've done my fair share of waiting."

"Got stood up?"

He nods his head. "It appears so."

"You and me both."

He raises a brow at her. "I'm sorry to hear that. He doesn't know what he's missing."

She smirked. "Yeah, you too."

Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. "Um, since we're both alone and all dressed up, would you maybe like to join me?"

She smiled. "I'd love to."

"Really? Uh great." He wasn't actually expecting her to say yes. He felt a little nervous as she walked over to him. He hasn't been on a date in almost five years and isn't sure if he has his groove back.

She scooted into the seat across from him and held her hand out to shake. "I'm Nina, but my friends call  
me Nini."

He takes her hand and shakes it. "I'm Richard, but my friends call me Ricky."

She chuckled. "Thank god because Richard does not suit someone your age at all. No offense."

He laughs. "None taken. My friends said the same thing, and I actually agree."

The waiter comes back to his table and was thrilled to see someone finally had arrived. "Is everyone finally ready to order?"

Ricky looks at the woman across from him and smiles. "Yeah, I think so."

"Great! What can I get you both to drink?"

"Club sodas." They say in unison.

They look at each other and smile. They don't even notice the waiter walk away.

"I see you have taste." She says.

"Back at you." He nervously fiddles with his fingers. "So what's a beautiful woman like you doing here?"

She sighs. "Well like you, I was here to meet up with a date. My friend Kourtney just wouldn't stop mentioning this guy, so I just caved into her so she'd shut up. I guess he wasn't so amazing after all since he didn't even bother to call to cancel."

"Wow, I have the exact same problem as you. My friends are great, and I know they mean well but they're just so..."

"Pushy?" She finishes for him.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Let me guess, you've been single for a while and now your friends are concerned you'll die alone?"

He nodded. "Yes! I swear we're living the same lives."

"It seems like it. I was dragging this date all day, but you know what? This night might not be so bad after all."

He blushes. "I totally agree."

"So tell me a little about yourself Ricky."

He was hesitant to tell the truth. Most women are turned off when they hear he's a teacher. "Well, I'm a theater teacher on weekdays at East High and a guitar teacher on weekends."

She perks up. "No shit! You play guitar and teach theater? I was a huge thespian in my teens and college days, and I also played acoustic."

He lights up when he hears that. He wasn't expecting such a positive response or that she liked the same things as him. "How about that? You still act or play?"

She nods. "Yeah, when I have free time I like to strum a few chords on my string instruments and make a few songs. I don't really act anymore since life kinda got in the way, but I'd love to do it again one day. I'm a baker now."

"You write songs too? Now I'm starting to think we were definitely destined to meet tonight."

She laughs, and he can't help but smile at how cute she looked. "Yeah, I think so."

They spent the rest of the night getting to know more about each other. Ricky purposely didn't talk about his daughter since he was hitting it off with this woman. He usually would immediately tell his dates he had a daughter just to rip the bandaid off, but this time he just wanted to enjoy someone's presence for once. He thinks he deserved at least one night without a woman walking out on him.

He hasn't been on such an amazing date in his life. He's never met someone with so many of the same interest and a vibrant personality. He wants this to last forever. 

When it was time to pay, he covered the tab despite her stating she'd cover her portion since he was never supposed to take her out in the first place. They walked outside the restaurant into the cool winter air. 

"I had a really good time tonight with you Ricky. I haven't been out on a good date in forever."

He grins. "I had a great time. I didn't want it to end."

She looks down at her feet and blushes. "Um would you maybe wanna grab a coffee or something?"

He nodded. "Yeah! Absolutely. May I have your number?"

She nods and hands him her phone so he can put in his digits. When they exchange numbers, he smiles when he sees she put her full name.

"Two part last name?"

"Yep!"

"What, you couldn't choose just one, so you decided to hoard both?" He teases.

She chuckled. "That'll be the first thing we can talk about on our next date."

He blushes. "Sounds good."

"I'll see you later Ricky."

"You too."

They parted ways and headed back to their homes. On his way back to his condo, he couldn't stop thinking about the incredible woman he met and couldn't wait to see her again.

***

Ricky was relaxing with his daughter on the couch as they watched LazyTown together when he gets a call from Big Red.

Ricky answers after the first ring. "Hey man."

"Dude, I heard that she never showed up I'm so fucking sorry you got all dressed up for no reason. I promise I'll make it up to you somehow."

"It's fine. I actually ended up having a really good time."

That confused Red. "You had a good time sitting in a restaurant alone?"

"Well I wasn't alone."

Red gasped. "Wait really? Who'd you eat dinner with?"

He looked down at his daughter to see if she was paying attention to him. Luckily, her eyes were glued to the screen. He went to the kitchen for privacy in case she overheard. 

"There was this amazing woman who also got stood up there. We ended up hitting it off. We're gonna go on another date this Saturday."

"Oh wow, that was a nice turn of events. I can't wait to hear all about her! What does she look like? Does she know about Maya?"

"No, and I don't plan on telling her yet. I just wanna enjoy someone's company for a bit before they run for the hills."

"I understand, but if she's as amazing as you say, she'll accept you and Maya."

He looks over at his daughter and sighs. "Yeah I know." He gets a text and smiles when he sees it's from Nini. "Hey Red, I'll call you later. I gotta handle something real quick."

"Alright man, talk to you later."

Ricky hung up and walked back to his spot beside his daughter. He opened his text to see what Nini said.

_Nini: I got a better idea for our date on Saturday. How does an arcade sound?_

He smiles goofily. 

_Ricky: Depends, can you handle getting your ass kicked in Pac-Man?_

_Nini: Pst, I'll be mopping the floor with you sweetheart. I happen to be the queen of Pac-Man._

_Ricky: We'll see if you're all bark and no bite. I'll see you at 6 on Saturday._

_Nini: Can't wait_

He felt Maya's small hand graze his arm. "Daddy's happy." She cupped his face and smooshed it together.

He smiled and pulled her into his lap to hold her close. He pressed a kiss on her cheek. "Yeah, I am."

He flipped her on her back and began blowing raspberries on her stomach making her giggle wholeheartedly.

***

Ricky was tapping on his steering wheel to the beat of his playlist. He had just left Maya with his dad at home to go on his date with Nini. He didn't tell anyone besides Red that he had a date today since he didn't feel like dealing with all the questions he's for sure gonna get. 

He pulls up to the building and was pleased to see she had already been there in the lobby waiting for him. He realized he's never been last to arrive at a date.

"Oh sorry, am I late?"

She shakes her head as she gets up from her spot. "No, not at all! I just have first date jitters, or maybe I should say second date? I tend to get to dates earlier when I'm excited. Oh god, now I sound desperate, sorry."

She blushes madly and looks down at her feet, which he figured must be her nervous tick. He holds her hand and squeezed it lightly, causing her to look at him.

"No problem. It's actually really cute."

She grins before clearing her throat; her cheeks still remain rosy. "Well, what're we waiting for? I believe I owe you an ass kicking in Pac-Man."

He smirked. "We'll see about that."

Surely enough, she was indeed the queen of Pac-Man and defeated him by a few points. But he had numerous of chances to redeem himself on other games. They end up spending the entire day playing any game that caught their attention.

They only paused for food breaks and to get to know each other better. He found out she had two moms which was why she had two last names, and she finds out his parents are divorced and not on good terms. By the end of the day, they had over 1000 tickets to spend at the concession stand. 

"What should we get to remember this date?"

He taps his chin. "Hm about a stuffed animal? I'm a real sucker for those."

She smiles. "So am I." She looks at the assortment of stuffed animals and sets her eyes on one that caught her attention. "How about that little guy?"

She points her fingers at a light brown teddy bear with red shoes. Ricky beams when he sees it. "I love it. Let's get em'. Can we have that teddy bear up there please?"

The cashier gladly got them the bear from the top shelf and exchanged some of their tickets for it. Nini hugged the bear. "What should we name him?"

He ganders at it before a name came to mind. "What about Franklin?"

She smiles and nods. "Yes, I love it. It suits him perfectly."

"Are we gonna share him?"

"I was thinking we'd both get our own, but I like that idea more. Maybe we can give him back and forth between dates like joint custody."

He laughs. "That's so adorable Neens. We can totally do that."

The sudden nickname throws her off, but it felt so natural from his lips. She's not even sure he noticed he said it. 

"Well, what should we do next? I've got an hour to kill."

He checks his phone and almost has a heart attack at the time. He told his dad he'd be back in 15 minutes. 

"Oh shit, I lost track of time. I have to be back by a certain hour for...work. Can we maybe meet another time?"

She was a little disappointed she couldn't spend more time with him but tried not to show it. "Yeah sure, how does next Friday sound? I should be off after four. Maybe we can go ice skating or something."

"It's a date."

When they get outside, he holds her hands. "I had a lovely night with you again."

"Me too! I can't wait for next week. I guess I'm in charge of Franklin this week." She says holding up the teddy bear.

"Guess so."

"Well, I'll call you. Goodnight."

She wrapped her arms around his torso, and he happily held her just as tight. He pulls away a bit and meets her eye. She looked like she was waiting for him to make his move, but he wasn't sure. He was still warming up to all the signs women give when they want to be kissed.

She seems to beat him to it when she cups his face and plants a soft kiss on his lips. It was a brief kiss, but he still felt a swarm of butterflies in his stomach. They both were left red faced.

She gave him a fleeting smile as she walked to her car. On the ride home, he couldn't stop the cheesy smile on his face. He kept replaying the kiss in his head, hoping that next time they'll be able to kiss even longer. 

He can genuinely see himself dating this woman in the near future. Then reality hits him. He had to tell her about Maya if he wanted to get serious with her. He sighs as he turns into his neighborhood.

He still isn't ready to risk losing Nini yet, so he decided to be selfish just a little longer. 

***

It's been a month since the arcade date, and he knows for a fact that he wants to ask her to be official. For the past few weeks, he purposely avoided talking about his daughter at all cost and never invites her over since the toys and child locks makes it obvious he's a parent. 

In order for them to go well, he needs to bring up Maya soon. Nini was great, but if she couldn't accept him and his daughter, then she wasn't the one for him. 

They had a date planned at a fancy restaurant downtown. Ricky was considering telling her after the date, so if she didn't want any part she can immediately go home instead of in the middle of the date like previous women have. 

He had gotten to the their table earlier than they had planned on purpose so he could calm his nerves and prep how he was going to bring Maya up. He sees her enter the front door and waves his hand so she could see him. 

She makes a toothy smile when she arrives at the table. She ducks down to place a kiss on his cheek before sitting across from him. 

"Well aren't you early."

He nervously chuckled. "I guess I overestimated traffic." He lied. 

She sees he's fidgeting with his fingers and shaking his leg. She began to get concerned since she's never seen him this restless. "Everything alright?"

"Um yeah, just jittery."

She didn't quite believe him, but she was gonna let it slide for now. "Let's just order."

He was a little off the entire night, but he still kept up a cool persona as much as possible. When she saw he was still shaking his leg, she figured she'd try to find a way to calm him down. She pulled out Franklin from her bag. 

"It's your week with the little guy." 

He smiled and took the bear. He spotted a little stain on him. "Uh oh, looks like he needs a bath."

"Oh my bad, I must've accidentally got a little ketchup on him."

He waves her off. "It's fine. Maya probably would've gotten him dirty eventually. She loves him." 

She raises a brow. "Who's Maya?"

His eyes widen, and he goes still. He didn't even register that he let her name slip from his lips. 

He sighed sadly realizing that this may be the last conversation he has with her. He figured it was better to get this out of the way before he was in too deep anyways.

"Neens, I have to tell you something."

She tried to hide her anxiousness with a poker face. She leaned towards him, waiting for him to continue.

"Maya is my...daughter." He whispers the last word. 

She was taken aback by his confession. "Wait, what?"

He looked at the table, too afraid to see her face. "I have a three year old. Her name is Maya, and she's my whole world."

He finally looked up at her when she didn't say anything for a full minute. He couldn't read her lost expression, but something told him it was a bad sign. Great, another potential relationship down the drain. 

"If you want out, I totally understand. You're not the first and probably not the last. It was nice knowing you Nini. I'll just leave my half of the check on the table." 

He started scooting out of the booth but was stopped by her hand grabbing his wrist. 

"Ricky, wait. Please stay."

He was surprised she wanted him to stay, considering every other woman usually would beat him to the door by now. 

"You want me to stay even after not telling you about my daughter?"

She nodded. "Yes, of course."

"She's not a deal breaker?"

She snorted. "Of course she's not a deal breaker. Why would she be?"

He sat back in his previous spot. "Well, because she usually is the deal breaker for most women. It's not common to meet someone who's willing to commit to being a possible stepmom to my kid in their early twenty's. Not like I'm saying you're gonna have to be her stepmom or anything, but you know I can't avoid bringing Maya up if someone wants to date me. I have to know if the woman is in it for the long game for Maya's sake. Does that make sense?" 

She chuckled at his rambling. "It does make sense. I actually totally can relate to you." 

He tilts his head. "What do you mean?"

She bites the inside of her cheek. "Well, I also have a big secret." She pulls out her phone and shows him her lock screen. There was a picture of her and a little boy that resembled her. 

"Ricky, I have a five year old boy. His name is Eli, and he's the light of my life."

He was shocked for the second time tonight by her. He found himself taking a breath of fresh air. He has never met a woman with a kid in his age range. 

He took her phone to get a better look at him. "He's adorable."

She smiled. "Thank you. I'm actually pretty relieved right now. I didn't know how to bring him up without scaring you off." 

Ricky grinned. "I thought you were gonna take off too, but I was gonna try to bring her up at the end of the night since I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend. You needed to know about her before committing though."

"Can I see a pic of her?"

He nods and shows her his home screen of Maya at her 3rd birthday party. Nini couldn't help but let out an awe when she saw how cute she was. "Oh my god, Ricky she's too precious. I can't right now." 

"Thanks, I adore her so much."

He can tell she wants to ask him something but was probably to nervous to do so. "Alright, just say it."

"Say what?"

"The question you're dying to ask me."

"Am I that obvious?"

"Just a little bit."

She claps her hands and rubs them together. "So, if you don't mind me asking, where's her mom?"

He scrunched up his nose in disgust as he remembered Maya's mother. Nini noticed his expression and felt bad for asking.

"You don't have to tell me if it's that painful."

He shakes his head. "No, it's not really a painful memory per se. I just despise her mother. Her name is Terra, and I had dated her for a few months. We got a little too wasted one night, and I ended up accidentally knocking her up. She was not excited about the news considering we were both 19, and I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled. In the end, we decided to keep it."

"After the first few months, I got accustomed to the idea of having a kid. But she wasn't on board with it yet, and she never did get on board. When she gave birth, she made this face of disgust at the sight of our child unlike me who fell in love the second I saw her little face."

He scowled as he remembered the night of his daughter's birth. "I asked her if she wanted to hold her, but she rolled her eyes and said no. I asked her if she still wanted to keep her, and she said yes. The doctor's had told me to go home while the baby and her rested and said they'd both be ready to go home by tomorrow evening, so I left."

He took a sip of his gin and tonic before continuing. "When I came back, our daughter was in her little crib, but there was no sign of Terra. I asked the nurse where she went, and she told me that she had left an hour before I got there. She didn't tell the nurse where she went. I went back to her hospital room and saw a little note in her handwriting on the counter. All it said was 'I left. Don't find me,' and I haven't seen her since. She blocked me on everything. She just fell off the face of the earth, leaving me a single father and my daughter motherless." 

Nini wanted to cry but held back her tears. "Ricky, that's awful. I can't imagine just leaving like that."

He laughed with no humor. "I never bothered to try to find her. If she didn't want to be a mother, I wasn't going to force her. I just wish she told me the truth so I could've been more prepared. I'm just glad Maya hasn't asked about her mom yet because I don't think she can handle that story at her age."

She interlaced their fingers and rubbed her thumb on the back of his hand. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine how painful that must've been."

He shrugs. "It doesn't bother me anymore. I got over it pretty quickly since I had more concerning things to focus on, and I was never in love with her. Enough about my little sob story, what about your kid's dad if you don't mind me asking?"

Nini groaned. "Oh god, I'm getting a headache even thinking about that motherfucker."

That made Ricky chortle. "That bad, huh?"

She nodded over exaggeratingly. "Oh yeah, big time. My story isn't nearly as sad as yours, but it would definitely be a part of my villain origin story." She jokes. 

"Oh god, I'm excited to hear this one." 

"So I got pregnant at 18 by my high school sweetheart, Derek, freshly out of high school. He and I were not happy about the news and neither were our families. He kept pressuring me to get rid of it, but I actually began to like the idea of having a baby despite it disrupting my plans. When I told him I was keeping it, he got really pissed and decided the best way to get revenge on me for keeping it was to sleep with some of my so-called friends."

Ricky choked on his drink at that last part. "Holy fuck, are you serious?"

She nodded and glowered as she recapped the event in her head. "Dead serious. I of course got rid of those friends he slept with, and I asked if he wanted to be in his child's life one last time just in case he miraculously changed his mind. I didn't wanna be one of those mom's who's too petty to let their ex be in their kid's life. When he said no, I cut off all ties with him. I moved to Salt Lake to give birth to my son, stayed in the city, and haven't heard from him since. It's just been Eli and I for five years now."

"Damn, I'm sorry to hear all that happened to you. That Derek dude is a total jackass for doing that."

"Yeah well, the past is in the past, right?"

He grins. "Right."

"Well this date took a turn I wasn't ready for, but I'm definitely not disappointed." 

He nods. "I definitely have to agree."

"You know what would make this date even better?"

He raises a brow. "What's that?"

She smirked and leaned towards him, lightly squeezing his hand. "If you asked me the question, you've been wanting to ask me all night."

He makes a crooked smile. "Nini, would you like to be my girlfriend?" 

She beams and leans over the table to peck his lips. "I'd love nothing more."

The rest of the evening was spent discussing their kids and other personal things they didn't share before. Ricky was so ecstatic that he finally found someone who could relate to him. He's sure that all the heartache and hopelessness he felt was all worth it in the end because it lead him to her. 

***

Two more months had gone by, and they both decided it was time to finally introduce their kids to each other since it seemed they were here to stay. Ricky was nervous on how Maya would react to Eli and Nini, and he himself was anxious about making a good first impression on Eli.

Nini had reassured him that Eli would like him and Maya, but that didn't really ease his anxiety. He was starting to fall hard for Nini, and he wanted to make sure their family's liked one another. He was straightening out Maya's skirt as she pouted.

"Daddy, do I have to dress up?"

"Honey, I already told you we have to make a good impression on the Salazar-Roberts. They might become a major part of our lives."

She stomped her feet. "But I don't wanna dress up."

"If you're a good girl today, I'll let you do my make up like you wanted me to when we get back."

She beams. "Really?"

He nods secretly regretting his promise already. "Pinky swear."

She claps her hands and lets him finish dressing her. He looks over his outfit multiple times before realizing that a five year old probably wouldn't care what he was wearing. When he was satisfied with both him and his daughter's apparel, they headed over to Nini's place.

When they were standing in front of her front door, he started mildly freaking out. Maya looked up at him confused when he didn't move.

"Daddy, your hands are sweaty."

He wiped his hands on his pants. "Sorry baby, I'm just a little nervous."

"Wanna hold Franklin?" She held up the bear to him.

He smiled at her cute gesture. "No, but thank you sweetheart."

He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer. A few seconds later, the door sprung open. A little boy appeared on the other side and gave them both a smile.

Ricky smiled down at him. "Hi, you must be Eli."

He nodded his head like a bobblehead. 

"Is your mommy home?"

Right when he mentioned her, he hears footsteps. "Eli, what did I tell you about opening the door without me? You're lucky it wasn't a criminal." 

Nini rested her hand on his head, looked up at Ricky, and smiled. "Hey babe." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before turning her attention to the little girl beside him. "And you must be Maya. It's so nice to finally meet you! You guys can come on in."

Nini held the door open wider for them, and the Bowen's followed her into the house. Eli walked up to Maya and averted his eyes to the familiar bear in her arms.

"Is that Franklin?"

She nodded. "How do you know Franklin?"

"Mommy brings him home sometimes. I get super excited when I see him! He's my favorite teddy."

"Me too! Wanna play with him?"

Eli nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, mommy can we go to my room to play?"

Nini smiled and nodded. "Of course sweetie! Don't make too much of a mess like last time."

The two kids ran off to play, making the two parents smile. It warmed up both of their hearts that they seemed to hit it off right away.

"Well, it seems like I was stressing over them bonding for no reason."

She wrapped her arms around his frame. "I told you everything would be okay."

He bent down and gave her a kiss as he rested his hands on her hips. 

"Now let's see how he likes me. I already know Maya will like you."

"I already said he'd like you. When I told him you do guitar lessons, he lit up. He's been wanting to start, and I haven't had time to teach him."

"I'd love to teach him, no charge needed."

She cupped his face. "That's sweet, but we both know I'm gonna sneak some cash into your pocket somehow anyways." 

He chuckled and brought her in for a deeper kiss, taking advantage of the fact that the kids were out of sight. She combed through his curls as their lips moved in sync. He began lowering his hands down her back and gently squeezed her ass.

She detached their lips and lightly slapped his upper arm. "Hey, don't get too handsy. The kids could pop up out of nowhere." 

He begins kissing on her neck. "Fine, maybe we can continue this a little later?" He smirks suggestively against her shoulder.

She blushed and released herself from him before she got carried away. "If you help me prepare the kids plates, then maybe I'll reward you later." 

He perked up. "Don't have to tell me twice." 

The day turns out to be a success. The kids were practically attached to the hip by the end of the day, which made the parents super happy. Neither child has ever had to share with another kid in their home, so the fact that they were so kind towards each other was a relief. 

When Ricky mentioned guitar lessons to Eli, he caught his attention immediately. Maybe playing music was going to be Ricky's thing with him, which he was excited to explore. 

Nini and Maya bonded when they spoke about Disney since both were big fans. They had the same favorite princess movie, which was Tangled. Nini promised to watch it with her since she owned it. 

When night time arrived, the kids had been getting a little tired after a day full of playing. The kids were on the couch nodding off as they watched the ending credits of some random kids movie Nini put on. Nini and Ricky were cleaning the kitchen. 

"I had an amazing day today. You and Eli really connected and same with the kids. I have a good feeling about this."

His heart warmed up at her words. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind as he rested his head on her shoulder. "I have a good feeling about this too." He kisses her shoulder and rocks them side to side.

"Hey Ricky, I know it's last minute, but do you maybe wanna stay the night? I have a guest room for Maya to stay in."

He was thrown off by her sudden proposal. "What made you say that?"

"Well it's kinda late, the traffic is pretty bad on Saturdays after 8, neither of us have work tomorrow, and you're already here. It just seems like a good night to do this."

He's never spent the night at her place before and vise versa, so this was a huge step in their relationship. This is also the first time Maya has spent the night at a girlfriend of his house. Everyone already got along well, so he doesn't see a problem with it. 

"Sounds like a plan."

Nini smiles. "Cool, it's a sleepover. I'll make chocolate chip pancakes in the morning." 

"Careful, we might not ever leave if you keep feeding us." 

"Who says I don't want you guys to stay? Maybe that was my master plan all along."

He chuckles and presses a kiss on her temple. "Come on, let's go put the kids to bed. I've been wanting some alone time with you all day."

She escapes his arms and winks at him as she makes her way to the living room. She picks up Eli with Ricky closely behind her. When he picked up Maya, Nini directed him to the guest room before walking to Eli's room. 

When both of the parents successfully put their kids to bed, they practically ran to her bedroom. She shut and locked the bedroom door before jumping in his arms. He collided their lips together as he took them to her mattress. 

He plopped them on the bed and climbed over her body. She looped her legs around his hips and pulled him close. He groaned when his groin accidentally rubbed against her center; it didn't help that her dress was hiked up. 

As much as he wanted to go further, he knew it was wise to stop considering both their kids were there, and he didn't have protection. Last time he did that, he ended up with a screaming infant. He climbed off of her much to her dismay. 

"Sorry, I just don't think now's the time to do all that."

She pouted a bit since she was in need of friction, but didn't wanna push him. "That's fine. We can just cuddle."

He laid on his back and opened his arm out for her to crawl in. She gladly accepted the invitation and rested her head on his chest. Their legs tangled with one another, and Ricky pulled her as close as he could. 

They sat in comfortable silence as she traced random patterns on his chest. 

"Ricky?"

He hums as a response and plays with her hair as he stares at the ceiling. 

She places her chin on his chest so that she could see his face. "I think I love you." 

That made him meet her gaze. He looked into her eyes to see if she really meant what she said. When he saw the sincerity in her eyes, he knew she was telling the truth. He grazed his thumbs on her cheeks.

"I think I love you too."

They both slowly form smiles. She crawls up to his face and passionately kisses him. He wraps his arms around her frame and rolls them over so that he's on top. As he kissed the woman he loved, he couldn't help but feel a wave of happiness come over him.

He can see this being something they do every day for years to come. He can see their kids growing up together as siblings. He can see him getting down on one knee. He can see possibly having a kid or two together to add to the family. He can see them celebrating all the milestones and holidays together. 

When he holds her in his arms and smiles as she nuzzles her head in his chest, he knows that he finally has found the exact person he's been searching for.

**Author's Note:**

> DRIVERS LICENSE OOOMMGGGG!!!! Her lives were cute and the song and video are so beautiful!!! Figured I should post on the day Liv decided to bless us.
> 
> I read a lot of @joshs_franklin family one shots on Wattpad. I had this idea drafted for a while before reading their work, but it pushed myself to finally make this. You should go check out their fics on Wattpad if you haven't already.


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